Nearly two decades after the fall of Saigon, U.S. President Bill Clinton announces the lifting of the 19-year-old trade embargo against Vietnam, citing the cooperation of Vietnam’s communist government in helping the United States locate the 2,238 Americans still listed as missing in the Vietnam War. Despite the lifting of the embargo, high tariffs remained […]
Dan Jansen Skates World-Record 500 Meters
On this day in 1994, the American speed skater Dan Jansen sets a new world record of 35.76 at the World Sprint Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Born in 1965 in Wisconsin, Jansen had been the youngest skater to compete at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, where he came in fourth place in the […]
Paula Jones Accuses Bill Clinton Of Sexual Harassment
Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state clerk, files suit against President Bill Clinton in the federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, on this day in 1994, asking for $700,000 in damages. Jones claimed that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, sexually harassed her and then defamed her after she went public with her accusations. The following […]
Earthquake Rocks Los Angeles
On this day in 1994, an earthquake rocks Los Angeles, California, killing 54 people and causing billions of dollars in damages. The Northridge quake (named after the San Fernando Valley community near the epicenter) was one of the most damaging in U.S. history. It was 4:31 a.m. when the 6.7-magnitude quake struck the San Fernando […]
Green Beret Indicted For Murder
A search for evidence in the disappearance and probable murder of Helle Craftscontinues on the snow-covered banks of the Housatonic River in Connecticut. Investigators had finally narrowed the search to this area after Helle, a Pan Am flight attendant, had vanished on November 18, 1986. Although her body was never found, authorities did find enough […]
Nancy Kerrigan Attacked
The figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked after a practice session at Cobo Hall in Detroit on January 6, 1994, just one day before the U.S. National Championships and one month before the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, in which Kerrigan was a gold medal favorite. As Kerrigan was leaving the ice, an unidentified man […]
Skater Nancy Kerrigan Attacked
Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan is attacked at a Detroit ice rink following a practice session two days before the Olympic trials. A man hit Kerrigan with a club on the back of her knee, causing the figure skater to cry out in pain and bewilderment. When the full story emerged a week later, the nation […]
Former Speaker Thomas P. Tip O’Neill Dies
Former Speaker of the House Thomas P. Tip O’Neill dies in Boston at age 81. O’Neill entered politics in 1936 when he was elected to the Massachusetts House where he served until 1952. In 1953 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat and was voted Speaker of the House in […]